The recent DVD release of Cybersix has been getting very little buzz online. Since I haven’t been able to find any reviews and the Cybersix comic scanlations I worked on with a couple of other people have proven so popular over the years (they’re here, stop asking), I felt it was only appropriate to write my own review of the set. Continue reading →

Posted on2014/09/14|Comments Off on Over-The-Air TV On The Chopping Block

The landmark hearings that will determine the future of television in Canada, which I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, are currently in full swing, and it seems that all anyone wants to talk about is the prospect of pick-and-pay. That’s understandable since being able to pick only the stations you want in a cable or satellite package would be highly cathartic to just about anyone. The proposal put forward by the CRTC is actually really great, even revolutionary in a number of ways. There’s one big problem though: a provision that will allow local broadcasters in Canada to shut down their over-the-air transmitters, effectively killing what is supposed to be the fundamental backbone of the entire television industry.

Earlier today, Corus Entertainment spoke before the CRTC in a hearing to determine the future direction of television in this country. Amid the myriad of talking points debating pick-and-pay television, preponderance of Canadian services, and availability of youth broadcasting, I wonder if at any point the Corus representatives thought “hey, isn’t today the tenth anniversary of that anime block that ran on YTV? Maybe we should bring that thing back.” It’s understandable if they didn’t – even I forgot that Bionix debuted ten years ago today. Continue reading →

The CRTC recently launched a survey about the future of Canadian television (open until March 14), and by golly this one is sure to create a whole new media environment! Real change is going to happen with our national regulator this time, and now is your chance to blah blah blah blah, yeah I know. You’re sick of this, right? These same talking points that you’ve heard from me, and probably others, dozens of times? Far too many times. Don’t get me wrong, the fetishization of bureaucracy and regulation is a proud Canadian tradition, and one that I certainly hope we don’t lose anytime soon, but this stuff wears thin after a while. The new survey does raise some problems and solutions that I’ve been harping on about for a while, which I’m glad to see. What’s going to be more interesting to most of you is that it includes some questionable attempts to gather public support for regulating Netflix. If you still have faith in the system, by all means join me after the jump for some of my thoughts. If not… well, hang in there. I’ll be posting about cartoons again soon, I promise.

What separates Viz Media from FUNimation, Sentai Filmworks, Crunchyroll, Daisuki.net, and even Nozomi Entertainment? Simple: they are the only North American anime distributor around that does not make their simulcast streams or their handful of online-exclusive titles available to Canadians in any way, shape, or form. For more insight on the situation, please follow the jump.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series’ television debut. If you know me through even the narrowest degree, you will understand that I am obsessed with this cartoon to a fault. I mean that quite literally: this passion stands as a serious flaw in my character. I have no doubt turned more people away from the show through my persistent and earnest promotion than I have won over. That said, I have no regrets about displaying the love I hold for this exceptional program, and I can’t help but think that its inability to amass the following it deserves reflects some interesting changes that fandom culture has gone through in the past few years.Continue reading →

As devastated as a number of you might be to hear this, I will not be continuing the English translation project for the Cybersix comic. It’s hardly a surprise after two years of complete silence on the subject, and it’s a tough announcement to make when the mere possibility of posting more chapters brings in more traffic to this blog than any legitimate interest in the things I actually talk about, but the others previously involved in the project have moved on, and I have to as well.

That is not to say I’ve been doing nothing all this time: not only have I actually gone through and redone all 83 previously translated pages with better quality scans and revised translations, I’ve managed to pound out one more chapter, bringing the translated total to 94 pages. (Just over half of the first volume.) A link to download these “remastered” pages, along with scans of the entire French-language version of the series is available after the jump.

Posted on2012/08/16|Comments Off on Panel At Anime Revolution This Saturday

If you’re going to be attending Anime Revolution in Vancouver this Saturday, I will be hosting a panel! Come to the “History of Anime on Canadian TV” where I will do a lot of talking about Albator, counting the number of voice actors Goku has had, and exploiting the audience’s fond memories of Bionix for personal gain. It will be taking place in Panel Room #3 at noon on Saturday 18 August. It was added at the last minute, so you won’t find it in the program book. Be sure to tell anyone who might be interested!

Ten years ago, the idea of a “Men’s Centre” at a University campus would have cued a laugh track. An idea so hilariously petty and anti-progressive that it would’ve barely held up as a comical scheme on a low-budget Canadian sitcom. The dialogue has changed somewhere along the line though, because Simon Fraser University is now being showered with praise for pioneering the concept of a safe space for men. Amidst the celebration, few have stopped to consider that perhaps this isn’t so much a sign of progress as it is the result of current media and internet culture wearing down resistance to a very negative type of thinking. Especially if Bronies wind up being involved.